Table 2 Anthropometry, presence of oedema and illnesses among 351 children admitted with severe acute malnutrition by age group
Age < 5 yearsa | Age ≥ 5 yearsa | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
n = 261 | n = 90 | ||
Growth indicators | |||
Weight, kg | 8.1 (7.8,8.4) | 14.1 (13.3,15.1) | |
Height, cm | 77.6 (76.4,78.6) | 105.7 (102.8,109.3) | |
BMI-for-age Z-score | −2.4 (−2.6,-2.2) | −2.6 (−3.1,-2.2) | 0.31 |
MUAC, cm | 11.1 (11.0,11.3) | 12.0 (11.6,12.3) | < 0.001 |
Weight-for-age Z-score | −3.7 (−4.0,-3.5) | −3.5 (−3.8,-3.2) | 0.27 |
Height-for-age Z-score | −3.4 (−3.5,-3.1) | −3.0 (−3.3,-2.7) | 0.14 |
Weight-for-height Z-scoreb | −3.6 (1.3) | ||
MUAC-for-age Z-scoreb | −4.0 (−4.1,-3.8) | ||
Clinical | |||
Bilateral pedal pitting oedema | 159 (61.0) | 55 (61.1) | 0.87 |
HIV status | 0.80 | ||
Negative | 172 (66.3) | 61 (67.8) | |
Positive | 6 (2.3) | 3 (3.3) | |
Unknown | 82 (31.4) | 26 (28.9) | |
Co-infection ( ≥ 1)c | 86 (33.0) | 8 (8.9) | < 0.001 |
Pneumonia | 60 (23.0) | 4 (4.4) | < 0.001 |
Diarrhea | 58 (22.2) | 3 (3.3) | < 0.001 |
Tuberculosis (all forms) | 14 (5.4) | 3 (3.3) | 0.58 |
Malaria | 8 (3.1) | 1 (1.1) | 0.46 |
Reported illness ( ≥ 1)d | 237 (90.8) | 81 (90.0) | 0.55 |
Fever | 182 (70.0) | 69 (65.6) | 0.48 |
Diarrhea | 169 (65.0) | 56 (62.2) | 0.53 |
Cough or difficult breathing | 145 (55.8) | 42 (46.7) | 0.18 |
Measles | 16 (6.2) | 5 (5.6) | 0.81 |